I love this photo taken by Peter at Fort Santiago in Manila, Philippines. Peter was able to superimpose the lovely red bloom that reminds me of poppies, which are now used to commemorate the two world wars.
Flower on the cross @ Fort Santiago
by PH Morton
God gave us memories so that we might enjoy roses is December.
~ J. M. Barrie
Photo by PH Morton
Peter buys me flowers all the time, rain or shine. These pink roses though are a special favourite. They look so dainty and delicate. Roses, in my opinion, are the most beautiful flowers of all and as an added bonus, they are wonderfully scented. They exude elegance and purity.
Did you know that light pink roses symbolise gentleness and admiration whilst the darker variety means gratitude and appreciation.
Flowers for you all from a rather cold and wet Monday morning here in London.
Suman sa lihiya is the most special suman for me. This is because of the memory attached to it. My sister- my best friend, and I used to make Suman Sa Lihiya for Christmas or New Year. We used to make it from scratch and we did master the way to cook it. I must say we made the best tasting suman. Everyone in the family appreciated it. Cooking suman was enriching to our family relationship. It really bonded us and perharps that was what added to the taste of the suman.
SUMAN SA LIHIYA WITH LATIK
adapted from Sarap Pinoy cookbook
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups gluitinous rice ( malagkit rice)
2 teaspoons lihiya ( lye water)
Latik:
2 cups coconut cream (kakang gata)
2 cups muscovado sugar
Coconut Sprinkle (Budbod) (Optional)
2 cups dessicated coconut or sapal ( the grated coconut that the coconut milk was extracted from)
1 cup sugar
Wash glutinous rice three times then soak in water for 20 minutes.
Drain and add the lye water.
Cut banana leaves in rectangles ( about 8″x 6″).
Pass it over medium-high flame to wilt it and make it pliable otherwise it will tear.
Put about 3 tablespoons of soaked rice on a piece of banana leaf; fold sides to make a packet, set aside.
Repeat the process until all the rice is wrapped.
Tie the suman in pairs- the folded sides should face each other.
Arrange suman in a pot lined with banana leaves; put something heavy on top ( I used a ceramic dish) to prevent the suman from floating.
Fill the pot with water until the suman is submerged.
Bring to a boil over high heat; then lower heat to simmer and let cook for 45 minutes to an hour.
Meanwhile make the coconut cream caramel sauce.
I didn’t make the sauce that comes with the recipe instead I made coconut caramelsauce: combine coconut cream and muscovado sugar in a saucepan, stir to dissolve the sugar then cook over medium heat until it thickens slightly.
The consistency should still be pour-able. For the coconut sprinkles or budbod: Combine sapal por dessicated coconut and sugar in a shallow pan or skillet.
Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the coconut browns.
This beautiful book was like a magnet to a photographer like my husband. As long as I have known him, Peter has always told me about wanting to own a Book of Hours. Yes my husband has some high expectations in life.
I think the Book of Hours are so expensive that they cost the Earth. To get them in a more affordable value, you buy them picture by picture or by the page. You can get them at eBay. I think Peter has a few pages stashed somewhere already. LOL
Anyway, this book displayed at the V&A Museum was really stunning. I would like one myself. The colors are so vibrant and the illustrations are magnificent. Imagine the amount of time a monk or a nun has to spent doing a page up. No wonder a book can be a lifetime work.
What are Book of Hours, I hear you ask!
Well, once again let’s dip into the wonderful words of Wikipedia.
The book of hours is a Christian devotional book popular in the Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscripts. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayer and psalms, often with appropriate decorations, for Christian devotion. Illumination or decoration is minimal in many examples, often restricted to decorated capital letters at the start of psalms and other prayers, but books made for wealthy patrons may be extremely lavish, with full-page miniatures.
Books of hours were usually written in Latin (the Latin name for them is horae), although there are many entirely or partially written in vernacular European languages, especially Dutch. The English termprimer is usually now reserved for those books written in English. Tens of thousands of books of hours have survived to the present day, in libraries and private collections throughout the world.